BACKGROUND ON CHO OYU: The Mountain: Cho Oyu is the world's sixth
highest mountain at 8201 m (26,901 feet), and lies 28 km west of Mt. Everest
on the Tibetan plateau. The peak itself straddles the Nepal Tibet border, and
the peak can be approached on its south side from the Thame valley of the
Khumbu region of Nepal leading up to the Lungsampa Glacier. From the north,
the peak is approached from the Tingri Plain, to the Palung Glacier that lies
below the peak's north face, and the Gyabrag Glacier that surrounds the
Northwest face. Cho Oyu has three main ridges: the Northwest, the Northeast,
and the Southwest.

Cho Oyu's impressive
Southwest face, that rises up three kilometers high from the Lungsampa
Glacier, drew the attention of the first expedition to the Everest Himal
organized by the British in 1921. Three decades would pass before it was first
attempted, in 1952, by an expedition led by Eric Shipton. They were turned
back at 6650 m (22,500') by the ice cliff on the Northwest ridge that proved
to be beyond their technical limits. (AAJ 27 1953, p.581). Cho Oyu was
successfully climbed two years later in the post-monsoon season of 1954 via
the Northwest ridge by Austrians Herbert Tichy , Sepp Johler and Sherpa
Passang Dawa Lama, who led the ice cliff that Shipton had described as
"obviously impassible." (AAJ 29 1955, p. 178) . That same year, Cho Oyu was
attempted by a French expedition that included Mme. Claude Kogan, and although
they were turned back at 7600 m (25,000'), her altitude record for women
lasted many years.

The Northwest Ridge:
Also known as the Tichy Route, the Northwest Ridge was the route of first
ascent and is the route we will climb. It begins from the Gyabrag Glacier at
the base of Peak 6446. Advanced base camp (ABC) will be located here, at about
5500 m (18,000') depending on snow levels. The route is predominately 35 to 50
degree snow and ice with a few short bands of rock and vertical ice sections.

The route ascends the scree and firn of Peak 6446, skirting the summit of Peak
6446 on its western side. Camp 1 will be put in at about 6400 m (21,000'),
where Peak 6446 joins the Northwest ridge proper of Cho Oyu. From Camp 1 the
route follows the Northwest ridge, and then opens out onto the Northwest face
of the upper mountain. About halfway between Camp 1 and Camp 2 the ice cliff
is encountered, which is a 150 foot mix of short bands of near vertical ice.
Most of the route between Camp 1 and 2 will be fixed with rope. Camp 2 will be
located at about 7000 m (23,000'). Some expeditions have put in a temporary
intermediate camp between C1 and C2, below the ice cliff on the Northwest
ridge at about 6600 m (21,600'), especially during the first or second
acclimatization trip.

High camp will be placed at about 7450 m (24,500') to maximize the chance of
success on summit day. From here, the first obstacle is the "Yellow Band"
(same as on Everest) which is usually fixed with rope, and which requires some
strenuous climbing. Above this, more rocky bands and steep snow put the
climbers on the summit ridge snowfield. Expeditions usually continue up this
steep snowfield to the crest of the Northwest Ridge and the false summit.
From here climbers cross a broad plateau, with a very small rise to the true
summit of 8201 m (26, 901 feet). From the true summit it is possible to get
an incredible view of Everest.